45 



3. revises the preliminary assessments to take account of 

 the comments and recommendations provided by the Scientific 

 Working Group, and makes the revised assessments available 

 for public review and comment; and 



4. finalizes the .assessments and promulgates regulations, 

 as necessary, to ensure that incidental lethal taking does 

 not exceed the Potential Biological Removal levels 

 calculated for the various stocks. 



The Bill specifies the criteria to be used to estimate the 

 Potential Biological Removal level for stocks that are depleted, 

 and for stocks of unknown or uncertain status, when the minimum 

 population size and the maximum potential growth rate are known 

 or can be estimated with reasonable certainty. The criteria are 

 appropriately conservative and, if adopted, will provide 

 reasonable certainty that taking, kept at or below the estimated 

 Potential Biological Removal level, will not cause the affected 

 stocks to be reduced or to be maintained below their maximum net 

 productivity level. However, the Bill does not specify the 

 criteria to be used to calculate the Potential Biological Removal 

 level for stocks determined to be within their optimum 

 sustainable population range. Likewise, it does not specify the 

 procedure to be used to determine whether a stock is within its 

 Optimum Sustainable Population range. 



At present, status of stocks determinations must be made 

 through formal rulemaking. Further, authorized take levels from 

 stocks determined to be within their optimum sustainable 

 population range may be equal to, and in some cases greater than, 

 the net annual increment or replacement yield. This take level 

 would be much higher than could be authorized, using the 

 conservative criteria for establishing the Potential Biological 

 Removal level for stocks of unknown or uncertain status. Thus, 

 continuation of the present system for making status of stocks 

 determinations and determining levels of take that can be 

 authorized from stocks within their optimum sustainable range 

 would provide an incentive for obtaining the information 

 necessary to determine whether a stock of unknown or uncertain 

 status is within its optimum sustainable population range. 

 Consequently, the Commission believes it would be desirable to 

 specify that the Potential Biological Removal level from stocks 

 determined to be within their optimum sustainable population 

 range is the level that can be sustained without causing the 

 stock to be reduced below its maximum net productivity level. On 

 a related point, the Commission believes it would be desirable 

 and appropriate to specify that stocks will be assumed to be 

 below their maximum net productivity level, and the Potential 

 Biological Removal level calculated accordingly, until a formal 

 determination is made that the stock is within its optimum 

 sustainable population range. 



